Cleaning apparatus for spinning machine rolls



1 Sept. 23, 1958 G. v. FOWLER 2,852,792

CLEANING APPARATUS FOR SPINNING MACHINE ROLLS Filed April 6, 1954 5 SheetsSheet 1 INVEWTOR George V Fowler! ATTORNEY Sept. 23, 1958 G. v. FOWLER 2,852,792

CLEANING APPARATUS FOR SPINNING MACHINE ROLLS Filed A rile, 1954 s Sheets-Sheet 2 l Fig.2

A uvvzwron George M Fowler ATTORNEY Sept. 23, 1958 G. v. FOWLER CLEANING APPARATUS FOR SPINNING MACHINE ROLLS Filed April 6, 1954 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 m r mm vw m M m 0 w ATTORJYEY United States atent Ofiice Patented Sept. 23, 1958 CLEANING APPARATUS FOR SPINNING MACHINE ROLLS George V. Fowler, Henderson, N. C.

Application April 6, 1954, Serial No. 421,398

6 Claims. (Cl. 15-93) The present invention relates to cleaning equipment and more particularly to a machine for removing deposits of lint from cylindrical rollers of spinning machines.

In the spinning industry cleaning rollers are used for removing lint during the spinning operation and such cleaning rollers accumulate a large amount of lint material on their peripheries, consequently it has been a problem to remove such lint so that the cleaningrollers may remain effective. The manual cleaning of rollers has involved an excessive amount of time and labor and previous devices for performing the operation have not been satisfactory.

An object of the present invention is to overcome the deficiencies of the prior cleaning devices and provide a machine which effectively removes the lint from the cleaning rollers. 7

Another object of the invention is to provide a workpiece cleaning machine for a minimum cost of maintenance.

Other and further objects will become apparent as the disclosure proceeds and upon reference to the accompanying drawing wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the cleaning machine with parts shown in phantom to more clearly illustrate the operative relation of the normally hidden parts;

Fig. 2, a top plan view of the machine;

Fig. 3, a front elevation of the upper portion of the machine in its position to receive a workpiece with a lower portion of the supporting frame cut away;

Fig. 4, a section taken on line 44 of Fig. 3; and,

Fig. 5, a wiring diagram of the electrical control circuit with the switches in operating position. Briefly, the present machine includes a frame having legs for supporting the same on the floor, a pair of hearing blocks arranged in spaced relation rotatably support fluted and knurled workpiece supporting rollers in spaced substantially parallel relation for the reception of a, workpiece in the trough formed between the fluted and knurled roller.

A spring pressed lint removing roller engages the knurled supporting roller and gearing interconnects the knurled and fluted supporting rollers for rotation in the same direction and for rotating the spring pressed roller in the opposite direction. A pair of plates arearranged in spaced substantially parallel relation and pivotally mounted for movement about the axis of the knurled supported roller. The pivotal movement of the plates is controlled by a foot lever and suitable linkages. Upstanding support members support inwardly, extending arms pivotally mounted intermediate their ends on the upper ends of the support members and a workpiece engaging roller is mounted on the inner end of such arms for operation above the trough formed by the knurled and fluted supporting rollers. A tension spring reacts between the outer end of each arm and a stop pin mounted on the adjacent plate so that the arm is moved in one direction by the force of the spring to urge the hold-down roller into workpiece engaging position while the same 2. stop pin engages the arm and returns such arm and the workpiece engaging roller to the inoperative position.

A shaft oscillatively mounted inthe end. plates carries arched members and a resilient scraper blade is carried by the free ends of such arched members for engagement with. a workpiece. The shaft is oscillated by an outwardly extending arm, a link, and a second arm oscillated by an eccentric and slide. The end plates are moved by a single pedal controlled operating lever and the same operating lever controls a motor for causing rotation of the supporting rollers, movement of the hold-down roller to its operative position and movement of the scraper into contact with the workpiece and simultaneously vibrating movement of the scraper thereby removing the lint from such workpiece.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, the cleaning machine includes a horizontally disposed channel member 10 with an angle member 11 secured to one end and an angle member 12 secured to the other end. Downwardly extending legs 13, 14, 15 and 16 support the channel member in definite relation and suitable diagonal and transverse bracing is provided to form a rigid supporting frame structure. Upstancling bearing blocks 17 and 18 are mounted adjacent the ends of the channel member 10 and a knurled and groovedroller 19 is rotatably mounted in such bearing block and has an outwardly extending shaft 20 projecting beyond the bearing block 18 and carrying a driving pulley 21 fixed thereto, the other end of the roller being rotatably mounted in the bearing block 17. -A second roller 22 is. also rotatably mounted in bearing blocks 17 and 18 and is arranged in substantially parallel relation and in approximately the same horizontal plane as the roller 19 and such roller 22 is provided with a fluted periphery. A roller 23 is mounted in the bearing blocks 17 and 18 and is spring pressed into contact with supporting roller 19 by means of suitable springs held against the bearing by caps 24 in a conventional manner. The rollers 19, 22 and 23 are provided respectively with gears 25, 26 and 27 and an idler gear 27A rotatably mounted in bearing support 17 intermeshes with gears and 26 to cause'such gears 25 and 26 to rotate in the same direction and to be positively driven upon rotationof shaft 20 and roller 19 by driving pulley 21.

A pair of end plates 28 and 29 are positioned outwardly of the bearing blocks 17 and 18 and are oscillatively mounted for motion about the axis of roller 19 andshaft 2t) and such plates are urged to the dotted line position shown in Fig. 4 by means of springs 30, 31 reacting between the outwardly extending pins on the plates 28 and 29 and the angle members 11 and 12, respectively. The

plates are secured together so as to be movable as a unit by means of bars 32 and 33 secured by suitable nuts threaded thereon. The plates 28 and 29 are oscillated by means of downwardly extending rods 32A and 33A having laterally bent upper ends passing through open ings in the end plates 28 and 29, the lower ends of such rods 32A and 33A being secured to the outer ends of a. crossbar 35. A rod 36 extends downwardly from the center of the crossbar and is pivotally connected at its lower end to a lever 37 having foot pedal 38 at one end, the other end of the lever 37 being pivotally mounted on a downwardly extending projection mounted on a transverse brace 40.

Projecting upwardly from the channel member 10 are upright members 41 and 42 which may be integral with the bearing blocks 17 and 18 respectively or attached thereto. Upon the upper end of the upright 41 an arm 43 is pivotally mounted intermediate its ends and upon side plate 28 a projecting stud 44 is mounted projecting inwardly in the path of arm 43. A tension spring 45 reacts between the outer end of the arm 43 and the stud 3 44 for urging the arm 43 in a clockwise direction as viewed in Figs. 1 and 4. A similar arm 46, stud 47 and spring 48 are provided at the other end with the arm pivotally mounted on upright 42 and stud 47 fixed on the plate 29. A workpiece hold-down roller 49 is rotatably mounted on the inner ends of arms 43 and 46.

A hollow shaft 50 is oscillatively mounted in plates 28 and 29 and carries a plurality of arch-shaped members or goosenecks 51 each having a threaded shank passing through the hollow shaft 50 and adjustably secured thereon by means of nuts 52. Fixed to the inner ends of the arch-shaped members 51 by any suitable means is a resilient blade 53 having a serrated edge, which extends substantially the length of the rollers. Extending rearwardly from the hollow shaft 50 is an arm 54 fixed at its inner end to the shaft 50 and having a link 55 pivotally attached at one of its ends to the free end of the arm 54 and having the other end attached to an arm 56 fixed to a shaft 57 which is rotatably mounted in a housing 58, which housing is secured to the channel by suitable means. A stub shaft 59 is rotatably mounted in said housing 58 in spaced relation to the shaft 57 and carries an eccentric 60 surrounded by a strap 61 carrying a projection 62 having a bore 63 which slidably receives a rod 64 which is fixed to the shaft 57. The shaft 59 carries a pulley 65 which is driven by a belt 66, the rotation of shaft 59 causing a vibrating action of serrated blade 53.

A source of power such as an electric motor 67 is mounted on the frame structure in a suitable manner and its drive pulley 68 through a belt 69 rotates a pulley 70 fixed on a counter-shaft 71, mounted on the frame. A pulley 72 mounted on shaft 71 drives the belt 66 and thereby the pulley 65 and shaft 59 and thereby vibrating the serrated blade 53.

Also fixed on shaft 71 is a small pulley 73 which drives apulley 74 mounted for rotation on the frame and pulley 74 drives a small pulley 75 fixed thereto which drives another pulley 76 mounted for rotation on the frame. A small pulley 77 is fixed to pulley 76 and drives pulley 21 rotating shaft 20. Suitable belts are provided for carrying the power between the pulleys. The gearing 25, 26, 27 and 27A simultaneously causes rotation of the supporting rollers 19 and 22 and spring pressed roller 23. The particular mounting of the pulley-s is not shown in detail but such pulleys may be mounted on conventional bearing blocks which are adjustable to provide for properly tensioning the driving belts.

A waste material discharge pan 77A is located rearwardly of and inclines downwardly from the roller 19 for guiding the removed lint away from the machine. Such pan is mounted in any suitable manner on the frame.

Mounted on one of the plates 28 is a mercury switch 78 provided with a conductor 79 extending to a switch box 80 on the motor 67 and from the switch box a power supply line 81 extends to a suitable source of power and a toggle switch 82 on the box '80 controls the main supply of current to the motor.

Referring to Fig. 5, a wiring diagram showing the connections and the mercury switch illustrates the simple control for the machine.

Operation Assuming the end plates 28 and 29 are in the position shown in Figs. 1 to 3 inclusive and in the dotted line posi tion shown in Fig. 4, the hold-down roller 49 is spaced from the supporting rollers 19 and 22 and the serrated scraper 53 is in its upper position thereby providing clear access to the trough formed between supporting rollers 19 and 22. The workman positions a spinning roller 83 having a large amount of lint thereon in the trough formed by supporting rollers 19 and 22 and then presses treadle 38 causing a downward pull on rods 32A and 33A moving the end plates 28 and 29 to the full line position shown in Fig. 4 and simultaneously with such movement the hold-down roller 49 is urged downwardly by spring 45 since the stud 44 has been raised permitting the outer end of arm 43 to raise and causing the hold-down roller 49 to engage the workpiece 83 thereby maintaining the workpiece in position. At the same time, the rear portion of the plates 28 and 29 move downwardly causing the hollow shaft 50 carried thereby to move downwardly thereby pivoting the arm 54'about the pivotal connection between arm 54 and link 55 causing the arch-members 51 and blade 53 to move from the dotted line position shown in Fig. 4 to the full line position wherein the cleaning blade 53 contacts the periphery of the spinning roller 83, Simultaneously with the movement of the plates 28 and 29, the mercury switch 78 is rocked to the position shown in Fig. 5 and since toggle switch 82 has been previously closed the motor 67 is energized causing rotation of the knurled and grooved supporting roller 19 and the rollers'geared thereto, resulting in rotation of the spinning roller 83. With the operation of motor 67 p the shaft 59 is rotated and thereby the interconnected mechanism causes an oscillatory movement of scraper blade 53.

Upon completion of the cleaning operation of one roller the operator releases the treadle 38 and the springs 30 and 31 return the plates 28 and 29 to the full line position shown in Figs. 1 to 3 and to the dotted line position shown in Fig. 4 stopping the motor by breaking I the circuit through mercury switch 76. The upward movement of the hold-down roller 49 and upward movement of the arch members 51 permits the spinning roller 83 to be removed and replaced by another spinning roller to be cleaned.

From the above it will be apparent that spinning rollers or other workpieces may be readily treated inthe apparatus with no danger of injury to the operator since the machine is always stopped whenever a workpiece is to be inserted or removed and the hold-down roller 49 is moved upwardly a suflicient distance so that the clear space between pivoted arms 43 and 46 for the operators hand.

The apparatus may be mounted upon wheels for movement along the floor to the spinning machines. The rollers from the spinning machines may be cleaned at the spinning machines thereby reducing loss of time and reducing the number of extra cleaning rollers required.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made in the invention without departing from the spirit and scope thereof and therefore the invention is not limited by that which is shown in the drawings nor by that which is described in the specification but only as indicated in the appended claims wherein what is claimed is:

1. A machine for cleaning lint from spinning rollers comprising a frame, having a plurality of supporting legs for engagement with a supporting surface, upstanding bearing blocks arranged in spaced relation on said frame, a knurled roller mounted for rotation about a horizontal axis on said bearing blocks, a fluted roller spaced from said knurled roller and mounted for rotation about a horizontal axis in substantially the same plane as the horizontal axis of said knurled roller, gears on said rollers,

an idler gear mounted on one of said bearing blocks and engaging the gears on said rollers for causing rotation of said rollers in the same direction, a spring loaded roller mounted on said bearing blocks for pressing engagement with said knurled roller, a gear on said spring loaded roller for engagement with the gear on said knurled roller to cause rotation in the opposite direction for feeding material between said spring pressed and knurled rollers,

a pair of end plates positioned outside of said bearing blocks and pivotally mounted for movement about the axis of said knurled roller, at least one spring reacting between said plates and said frame for urging the portion of said plates adjacent said fluted roll towards said fluted roll, means interconnecting said plates for simultaneous gnovement, upstanding members on said frames between said end plates, arms pivotally mounted on said upstanding members intermediate the ends of said arms, spring means engaging said arms and said plates for urging the inner ends of said arms towards said knurled and fluted rolls, stops on said plates for engaging said arms for moving said arms in the opposite direction, a hold-down roll rotatably mounted on the inner endsof said arms, the spacing between said bearing blocks and between said fluted and knurled rollers being of a size to receive a workpiece, said roller on the inner ends of said arms being engageable with the workpiece to resiiently retain the workpiece on said fluted and knurled rollers, a shaft mounted for oscillation on said plates and spaced from said rollers, a plurality of goosenecks adjustably mounted on said shaft and projecting toward said rollers so that the goosenecks partially embrace said spring loaded roller, a resilient blade secured to the free ends of said goosenecks for cooperation with the workpiece, an arm projecting rearwardly from said shaft, a link pivotally connected to said arm, another arm pivotally connected to said link at one of its ends, a shaft fixed to the other end of said arm and oscillatably mounted in said frame, a plunger fixed on said last mentioned shaft, a slide mounted on said plunger, an eccentric strap on said slide, a shaft having an eccentric mounted in said frame with the eccentric within said strap for causing oscillatory motion of said strap and slide whereby the rotation of said eccentric produces an oscillating motion of said goosenecks and the resilient blade thereon, a motor mounted on said frame, and means connecting said motor to said knurled roller for rotating the latter at a slow speed and means connecting said motor to shaft of said eccentric for rotating said eccentric at a high speed, a foot lever mounted on said frame, means connecting said foot lever to said plates for causing motion of said plates to an inoperative position away from said fluted roller and a mercury switch on one of said end plates in series with said motor for causing operation of said motor when said end plates are tilted to their operative position.

2. A machine for cleaning lint from spinning rollers comprising a frame, upstanding bearing blocks arranged in spaced relation on said frame, a first roller mounted for rotation about a horizontal axis on said bearing blocks, a second roller spaced from said first roller and mounted for rotation about a horizontal axis in substantially the same plane as the horizontal axis of said first roller, gears on said rollers, an idler gear mounted on one of said bearing blocks and engaging the gears on said rollers for limiting the rotation of said rollers to the same direction, a spring loaded roller mounted on said bearing blocks for pressing engagement with the first of said rollers, a gear on said spring loaded roller for engagement with the gear on said first roller to cause rotation in the opposite direction for feeding material between said spring loaded and said first roller, a pair of end plates positioned outside of said bearing blocks and mounted for oscillating movement, resilient means urging a portion of said plates adjacent said second roller toward said second roller, upstanding members on said frame between said end plates, arms pivotally mounted on said upstanding members intermediate the ends of said arms, resilient means urging one end of said arms towards said first and second rollers, a hold-down roll rotatably mounted on the inner ends of said arms, the spacing between said bearing blocks and between said first and second rollers being of a size to receive a workpiece and said holld-down roll on the said one end of said arms being engageable with the workpiece to resiliently retain the workpiece on said first and second rollers, a shaft mounted for oscillation on said plates and spaced from said rollers, a plurality of arched members adjustably mounted on said shaft and projecting toward said rollers so that the arched members partially embrace said spring loaded roller, a resilient blade secured to the free ends of said arched members for cooperation with the workpiece, and means to simultaneously oscil late said plates, rotate said rollers, and vibrate said blade whereby a workpiece is cleaned.

3. Apparatus for cleaning spinning rolls comprising a pair of supporting rollers arranged in parallel spaced relation with the spacing of said rollers appreciably less than the diameter of a spinning roll, a hold-down roller mounted for movement toward and away from the space formed by the said supporting rollers for engaging the spinning roll, said hold-down roller and supporting rollers contacting the spinning roll at circumferentially spaced points defining a triangle in which all of the angles are acute, a scraper mounted for movement toward and away from the periphery of the spinning roll and contacting the spinning roll in substantially tangent relation, a feed roller positioned adjacent said scraper and cooperating with the adjacent supporting roller to remove debris loosened by said scraper.

4. The invention according to claim 3 in which means are provided for vibrating the scraper along a line substantially tangent to the spinning roll.

5. A machine for cleaning workpieces comprising a frame, a pair of supporting rollers arranged in spaced relation and mounted for rotation in the same direction, a hold down roller movably mounted on said frame for movement toward and from said supporting rollers for engagement with a spinning roll workpiece adapted to be supported on said supporting rollers, a scraper arranged in generally parallel relation to said rollers and mounted for movement toward and way from the periphery of the spinning roll when supported on said supporting rollers, means supported on said frame for controlling the movements of said hold-down roller and said scraper toward and from the workpiece, said scraper being mounted for movement about the axis of one of the rollers of said pair of supporting rollers and for movement about an axis spaced from said last mentioned axis whereby the scraper has motion in two directions, said scraper being mounted so that the edge thereof is adapted to engage the lateral surface of the workpiece, and power means for causing said scraper to engage the lateral surface of the workpiece and to be moved away therefrom in a generally tangen tial direction to said workpiece whereby the material on the surface of said workpiece is removed.

6. The invention according to claim 5 in which means are provided for continuously oscillating said scraper about the said last mentioned axis.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,581,400 Garner Apr. 20, 1926 1,871,678 Ermold Aug. 16, 1932 2,015,603 Maris Sept. 24, 1935 2,413,832 Kay et al. Jan. 7, 1947 FOREIGN PATENTS 314,053 Germany Aug. 6, 1919 

